Improvement in flue-covers



l L l l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY TONGUE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN FLUE-COV-ERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 159,231, dated January 26, 1875; application filed December 5, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY TONGUE, of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain Improvements in Stoppers or Covers for Stove-Pipe Flues, of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates to improvements in that class of devices employed to stop or cover the flue-hole used to insert the stove-pipe into the chimney-flue.

My invention consists of a cover or stopper provided with an adjustable spring-arm in such a manner that, by pressing said springarm into and through the flue-opening, so that its rear hooked end will fall inside and below the flue-opening, the inner wall of the chimney-flue will secure it firmly in place. The said spring-arm is adjustably connected with the cover or stopper, so that it may be easily removed from the flue-opening. The cover or stopper is constructed of two dished. plates, pivoted near their periphery to each other, the concave portions of the plates facing each other for the purpose of concealing the adjusting medium of the spring-arm from view, all of which will be fully hereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front view of the cover or stopper; Figs. 2 and 3, a vertical and a horizontal section of the invention applied to the pipe-flue of a chimney.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

in which like letters of reference indicate cor-.

responding parts, the letters A and B represent the two plates or sections of the cover or stopper, the outer section being pivoted to the inner by a small pivotpin, a. The two plates or sections are dish-shaped, and the inner one is constructed with. a peripheral flange, e, which overlaps the pipe-opening of the chimney-flue. The letter C represents the spring-arm for confining or securing the stop per or cover in place, and it is preferably formed of tempered or spring wire, and made with a horizontal hooked end, f, which passes through a central opening in the inner section or plate, B. The other portion of the springarm is bent downwardly to form a shoulder or ledge, g, and it is then bent upwardly and inwardly to form a toe or prong, It, all in such view. The hooked end f of the spring-arm,

which projects through the central opening in the inner section, is provided with a wedge, 11, which passes through said hooked end, and

one of its ends is split; or the wedge may be doubled, so that the end may be separated after insertion through the hook, so as to prevent its becoming detached.

The cover or stopper, as thus constructed, is placed in position to conceal the pipe-opening of the chimney by passing the spring-arm through the pipe-opening until the ledge g and the prong or toe h fall behind the inner wall of the same, as represented in Fig. 2. The wedge is then forced in the hook f, between the head of the latter and the inner section or plate of the stopper, which draws the end of the spring-arm outwardly, and securely confines the parts in place. The outer section or cap-plate is now brought over the inner section, which completes the operation.

The outer or cap plate may be provided with'any desirable ornamentation to suit the requirements or ornaments of the wall of the room; and the whole, as constructed, furnishes a simple, convenient, and reliable stopper or cover for stove-pipe openings, intended to be employed when the stove and stove-pipe are not in use, so that the unsightly pipe-opening will not mar the appearance of the wall.

It will be observed that the spring-arm which confines the cover in place is rendered adjustable" as regards its pressure, whereby it can be tightened up by the wedge. should it lose any of its elasticity, and thereby any liability of the covering-plate hanging loosely in place is obviated, which is not the case where the plate is provided with springs secured rigidly to the same.

The covering is removed from the pipe-opening by loosening the wedge and raising the plate or cover until the shoulder or ledge g is removed from engagement with the inner wall of the pipe-opening.

Having thus described my invention, What 2. The combination of the inner and outer I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letpivoted sections,A B, the retaining-spring ters Patent, is-- arm 0, and the wedge 11, substantially as and 1. The combination, with a cover or stopper for the purpose described. of a stove-pipe opening, of a retaining-spring arm, adjustably connected to the cover 01' HENRY TONGUE. stopper, whereby it may be adjusted to com- Witnesses: pensate for any loss of elasticity, substantially J. FRANK RIGHMOND,

as described. HENRY L. SLAYTON. 

